The Year in Review
As we wrap up another year of celebrating and preserving Indiana’s natural legacy, we’re thankful for our generous donors, partners, and dedicated DNR staff that made the year’s accomplishments possible. We saw drastic increases in outdoor education opportunities, thousands of trees added to Indiana’s public lands, impactful habitat enhancement projects begin, and so much more.
We began the year with exciting news from Clifty Falls State Park where two colorblind viewers were installed at Lookout Point. Designed to offer guests with colorblindness the chance to experience Indiana’s outdoors in more vivid detail, the project was made possible by the generosity of our partners at the Emma L. Snyder Charitable Foundation with additional support from the Friends of Clifty Falls State Park. This collaboration continues to showcase the power of partnerships and increasing access to Indiana’s outdoors.
Colorblind viewers, one of which is ADA accessible, at Clifty Falls State Park.
The busy spring continued with an increase to $500 for the maximum grant amount for the Discover the Outdoors field trip grant program. The excitement surrounding that announcement continued through the summer application window and well into the fall when we announced a program high of nearly $25,000 in grants expected to be distributed for the 2024-25 school year. That milestone is sending more than 4,800 Hoosier students to Indiana State Parks properties for a day of learning and adventure, like this group we joined at Prophetstown State Park.
Students learn about amphibians from Jenna Parks-Freeman, Prophetstown State Park’s interpretive naturalist.
Indiana’s forests continue to grow through the Indiana Tree Project thanks to our impactful partners and generous donors. The year began with exciting news of Bowles Mattress Co. joining in the efforts to reforest Indiana. With the launch of its Sleep IN Style mattress series, the Jeffersonville-based company pledged to donate a portion of the sales from that line to the project, a commitment that has already resulted in 1,000 trees planted.
Two of our other Indiana Tree Project partners, Huston Solar and Clif Bar, continued their dedication to the program. We celebrated Earth Day with Clif Bar at Greene-Sullivan State Forest while a Prophetstown State Park planting with Huston was delayed until the spring due to weather. Combined, the groups have planted more than 30,000 trees in Indiana’s state forests and continue to play an important role in celebrating and preserving Indiana’s outdoors.
Clif Bar employees plant trees near Black Cat Lake in Greene-Sullivan State Forest.
Summer kicked off with a celebration of the many impactful projects in northeast Indiana, such as the acquisition of the Buchanan Unit, as we joined our partners with the Northeast Indiana Conservation Partnership & Preservation group for their biennial fundraiser. The group has supported the INRF and DNR in increasing public land and improving habitat since 2012. This year’s fundraiser added more than $200,000 to the pool of resources for projects in the region.
Blooming prairie at the Buchanan Unit of Mallard Roost WCA. Photo courtesy of Rob Seilheimer.
In one of our impact stories from early 2024 we shared how TC Energy was continuing their support of Indiana’s natural resources through a grant toward the purchase of a UTV for Martin State Forest. The UTV helps property staff better manage habitat and control invasive species. A few months later, we joined our TC Energy partners once again as they awarded us another grant that gave Patoka Lake staff the opportunity to upgrade their resource boat. The new boat will be an integral tool for property staff to create more fish habitat, install buoys, and aid in search and rescue. We’re excited to share more about this project in early 2025.
Brian Finch, Patoka Lake wildlife specialist and assistant property manager, uses the new resource boat to install fish structures.
An exciting year for Moontown Brewing Company’s Pints for Parks series saw us visit Starve Hollow State Recreation Area and Tippecanoe River State Park. Now 12 brews into the series, Moontown surpassed $10,000 donated toward Indiana’s public lands. A portion of sales from each Pints for Parks installment is donated to the INRF for special projects at Indiana State Parks. Visit a Moontown location to get the current Pints for Parks beer on draft or in commemorative 4-packs.
Pints for Parks Starve Hollow beer at Starve Hollow SRA.
Each of these powerful projects and programs are made possible by the generosity of our donors and partners. There’s still time to make an impact in 2024. Help expand Indiana’s public lands, send Hoosier children on educational field trips, and create healthy habitat by donating today.